Ash :: Working on a better title
by Xander Cruize
Summary: After the eruption of Mt. Chimney, Flannery is visited by a trainer with news of towns outside of the ash fall. But before the news, she wants his story.
1. Prologue

The door to the Pokémon Center chimed as a young man walked in. He was in his mid-teens, with short, shaggy black hair and vibrant green eyes. His skin was lightly tanned from spending so much time in the sun, and the clothes he wore were well-used, patched in various places. Said clothes were a dirty brown shirt, ragged blue jeans, and black boots. However, what drew the eye was the belt he wore, which was looped through only one side and hung lower on the other as consequence. On this belt was a set of six pokéballs.

From the looks of him, he had just gotten done battling one of the various wild pokémon in the area. Ever since Chimney had erupted, they had gotten braver, often attacking humans in the cities. The teenager approached the counter, unhooking his belt and setting it on the counter. "All of them, please," he said softly, his voice somewhat rough. It would be, since he didn't appear to have a mask.

The nurse nodded her head lightly. "Yes sir. You do know we have to charge, now, don't you?" When he raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "Between the ash fall, feral pokémon, and general lack of any outside communication, our stock has been pretty limited."

He sighed a bit, grabbing the belt back up, removing just one of the balls. "Then just this one. He earned it." The nurse nodded, taking the ball and heading into the back. There, she set the pokéball on her scanner, to see what she was dealing with.

_Arcanine, Male_

_Health: Critical condition_

_Status: Poisoned, paralyzed_

_Suggested treatment: Antidote, paralyz heal_

She set the healing machine before placing the ball inside. 'An Arcanine,' she thought quietly. 'You don't see many of those around here. Come to think of it, he's from out of town.' She blinked at the realization. She waited for the canid to heal fully before stepping back into the lobby.

As she handed the ball back to him, she leaned forward. "Excuse me, sir?" she asked nervously, watching him. "I was just wondering... You're not from around here, right?"

"That's right," he replied, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, I was just... Do you have any news from beyond the ash fall?" She was on pins and needles, wondering how the rest of the world was coping with the recent seismic activities.

"Yeah, I have news. I'm supposed to speak with Flannery first, though. Let her decide what the people hear."

"I see. In that case, you'll find what's left of the gym just down the road."

"What's left?"

"You'll see."

* * *

As he left the Center, Seth dreaded seeing the remains of Lavaridge Town's gym. It surely wouldn't be pretty, being nestled right at the base of the mountain. As he approached it, his heart sank. The front wall had obviously caught fire, showing various holes through it. The roof was all but non-existant and the glass door, upon closer inspection, appeared to have liquidized for a short time. He shook his head, walking in.

Inside was a young woman with red hair pulled into a high ponytail. As he walked in, she looked up from the ball she'd been rolling around in her palm. Her cherry-colored eyes burned into him with an intensity that matched her personality. "Sorry, gym's closed due to recent occurences." As she said it, a sad look crossed her face.

Seth shook his head lightly. "I'm not here for a fight. I bring news from outside the ash fall."

"Wow, someone actually made it through? We haven't had anyone come in from the south in a few months. Why don't you tell me your story? The news can wait."

"All right, where should I start?"

"Where any good story starts. The beginning."

* * *

Nothing like starting in the middle, huh? Read and review, please.


	2. Magma

I was in Little Root when the quakes started. I had just gotten there from Johto. Yes, it was a long trip. I started in a small town in Kanto, actually. But anyways, I had just gotten into Lilycove City when the earthquakes hit.

The shaking died down quickly enough, and I decided to help fix things up. Arcanine and I were taking a break when the news reported Chimney's eruption. And I figured, hey, why not? I was going to be scouring the land anyways, planning on taking the gym challenge, maybe battle the Hoenn Elite Four. I could make my way here. But I had to get some more pokémon and get them strong enough to survive first.

I made my way to Little Root town and from there to Rustboro. I breezed through Roxanne, caught a boat to Dewford and did the same thing to Brawly. By this point, the word was that Lavaridge hadn't survived, but nobody knew for certain because of the ash fall. While in Dewford, I delivered something to a guy named Steven. He said that I had potential to be a great trainer, and to always be on guard. I had a feeling I'd be meeting him again later.

From Dewford I travelled to Slateport City, where I spent a day touring the place and went to the Museum of Oceanology.

That's when I met them for the first time. I was delivering a package to one Captain Stern when we were assaulted by Team Magma. I'd tangled with Aqua before, and found them to be less than threatening. But when that man Maxie walked in with his Camerupt on one side and a Torkoal on the other, I knew deep down that he was dangerous.

He looked at me, regarding me with cold, calculating eyes. "So you're the boy who's been giving Archie problems, huh? He would fall to such a weakling." His voice was smooth, silk, but at the same time gravelly, like he smoked a lot. Hell, he probably did. And it was with that voice that he gave one order to his pokémon. "Destroy the boy and the captain."

Before I could move, the Camerupt had released a blast of fire which killed Stern. It was a quick, painful death. The Torkoal released a wave of pure heat that sent me to the ground and busted the glass from the windows. I stood shakily and called out my own trusted ones. Arcanine, my first ever pokémon, hatched by me, stood across from the Numel.

My darling girl, Sylph, stared down the Torkoal, her red eyes filled with rage, her silvery skin glowing in the light. She's a Gardevoir, and if I speak of her with more than a trainer's love, you'll have to forgive me that. I forget she's not human sometimes.

I don't remember what I shouted. Something to the effect of "kill them" but I don't know for certain. All I know is that I train my pokémon for situations like this. I had a hand in toppling Team Rocket a few years back, so it comes with the territory. Sylph through up a powerful light screen, holding it across our half of the arena. Arcanine would dart forward, land a few quick blows on the much slower Numel, and then jump back behind the barrier in order to avoid the blast of fire he got in response. Sure, it wouldn't kill him, but I could feel the heat each time a flame hit the light screen, and knew it would hurt him.

And through it all, Mazie watched. He was firmly convinced that he had me cornered, that eventually Sylph would lose her focus and then he could kill us. But I've been known to pull surprises from out of nowhere. I always had an escape strategy.

In this case it called for me to rush through the light screen and jump at Maxie while issuing a psychic command to Sylph. Maxie and his pokémon were all too surprised to react as I flew at him. Just before I made contact, though, my scenery changed. I found myself landing hard on my knees in sand. We were back at Dewford Town. I called them both back to their pokéballs after telling them what a great job they did.

Something Maxie had said bugged me... Archie. I hadn't ever met the leader of Team Aqua before, but I'd heard the name tossed around. Maxie thought he was weak, but Maxie probably thought a lot of people were weak. I spent the night in Dewford's Pokémon Center, and the next day caught the first ferry back to Slateport. I attended a short memorial service for Stern, and then made my way up to Mauville...

Look, not to be rude, but is there somewhere to eat and sleep around here? I've been on the road a long time... I'll tell you more later.


End file.
